Opus Bank appointed Paul W. Taylor chief executive officer and president of the bank. Taylor was also appointed to the board of directors.

A 34-year banking and finance veteran, Taylor most recently served as CEO and president of Denver-based Guaranty Bancorp, and its wholly-owned bank subsidiary, Guaranty Bank & Trust.

Taylor succeeds Paul G. Greig, chairman of Opus’ Board of Directors, who has served as interim chief executive officer and president of Opus Bank since November 2018. Greig will continue as chairman of the board, a position he has held since January 2018.

“I am thrilled that an experienced banker such as Paul, who has successfully managed a highly profitable, mid-sized bank, as well as held executive roles within one of the nation’s larger banks, has agreed to join Opus Bank,” said Greig. “I have great confidence that Paul will make an excellent fit for the role and look forward to his contributions in leading the company and enhancing its earnings profile.”

Taylor commented, “I look forward to working closely with Opus’ Board, executive leadership, and all team members as we strive to make Opus into one of the leading commercial banks in the Western region.”

Before becoming CEO, Taylor served as Guaranty Bank’s executive vice president, chief financial officer, chief operating officer, and secretary. From 2000 to 2004, he served as executive vice president, chief financial officer for Centennial Bank Holdings until its acquisition by Guaranty Bancorp. From 1998 to 2000, Taylor served as director of Mergers and Acquisitions for Alex Sheshunoff Investment Banking. Earlier in his career, he served as director of Investment Banking with Century Capital Group. Taylor began his banking career in 1985 at KeyCorp, where he held various executive management positions in the New York and the Rocky Mountain regions.

Opus’ board of directors retained Korn Ferry to assist with the process of identifying a pool of highly qualified senior banking executive candidates.

Based in Irvine, CA, Opus Bank is a commercial bank with $7.7 billion in total assets, $5.5 billion in total loans, and $6.1 billion in total deposits. The bank provides commercial and retail banking products and solutions to its clients in western markets through 47 banking offices and offers a wide range of loan products, including commercial, healthcare, media and entertainment, corporate finance, multifamily residential, commercial real estate and structured finance, and is an SBA preferred lender.